Biography note: Author of more than 200 papers, in the field of manufacturing and innovation, and the Book “The Manufuture Road”, in cooperation with E. Westkaemper and D.Williams. Developed and presented, at the CIRP General Assembly in 2003, the “Manufuture philosophy”, that triggered the European Technological Platform Manufuture, followed by 28 National Platforms, and, later, the European “Factories of the Future” PPP Initiative. Currently engaged in the development of a new paradigm: Competitive Sustainable Globalization. Worked for the Italian Ministry of Research on the definition of several National Research Programmes, in the domain of Manufacturing. Promoter and director of the first and largest Italian National Programme on FMS, by CNR. Italian representative within several European Framework Programmes. Eureka High Level Representative for Italy. Co-founder of Eureka Famos and Factory Umbrella Projects, promoter of “Manufuture Industry” Eureka Cluster. Vice-president for Research of the European and Italian Manufuture Technological Platforms. Honorary member of the European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA) Board of Directors. Honorary Fellow and President (2002-2003) of CIRP, the International Academy for Production Engineering. Recipient of SME Sargent Progress Award, for his contribution to Research and Innovation in Manufacturing.

Manufacturing Industry is the foundation of national and international economies. It accounts for approximately 16% of global GDP and 14% of employment. It is critically important to both developing and developed Countries.

Current Globalization – enabled by manufacturing and affecting it - has brought many advantages to new developing Countries, but also created many large-scale problems in developed Countries.

By 2025 the majority of production and consumption will take place in developing economies. Meanwhile, in established markets, product demand will be almost steady, but highly differentiated.

A new global equilibrium must be pursued. A new paradigm - Competitive Sustainable Globalization – could guide such process. It relies on two complementary components, interacting within global value chains:

Competitive Sustainable Local Manufacturing, focusing on establishing local manufacturing competitive and sustainable industries.

To respond to Grand- economic, social, environmental- Challenges, within a globalising world perspective, developed Countries foster re-industrialization, by investing in local manufacturing, within a global perspective.

European Union is promoting and supporting such process. The European Initiative fostering regional Smart Specialization Strategies, referring to Competitive Sustainable Development, could provide the right political and financial environment to promote and support Competitive Sustainable Local Manufacturing. Industry and Research Institutions could play a revolutionary role, as fostered by Manufuture.

The 2000 Lisbon strategy required the continuing presence of a strong and competitive manufacturing, as an economy based on service industries alone would not survive in the longer term. To this end, in the European Commission, promoted the Manufuture ETP, to contribute to a competitive and sustainable future of European Manufacturing Industry, within a globalizing world.

The EU 2020 St rat egy has set out a vision to help to come out stronger from the crisis and turn the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. This should be translated into National, EU and International targets and trajectories.

Within Horizon 2020, Manufuture is required to contribute to ensuring high impact of EU Manufacturing Research in Industrial Leadership and providing HAV solutions – Products and Services, Processes and Business Models – to Grand Challenges. Manufuture will play three fundamental functions: strategy, mobilizing and dissemination. Manufuture “past and future”, encompassing from well known achievements to strategic activities already being launched, brings two strong messages.

As it has already been done and tested, Manufacturing Research should be seen as a relevant activity, but within the Building Blocks structured Area, proposed by Manufuture: the European Manufacturing Innovation and Research Area( EMIRA). Within this, the cycle encompassing from Vision, to Strategic Research Agenda, all the way down to the Valorization Stage, should be as short as possible, and be reiterated every three to five years. This is dramatically important to support European Manufacturing Industry.